It seemed like she was going to say no, and Raja felt his disappointment mounting, but to his surprise and relief, Rhiya said he could try it. “Thanks!” he said, giving her a quick squeeze. He didn’t want to hug too hard or tight for fear of knocking either her, the disc, or both off into the red area.

Raja aimed his wand and took a deep breath. “Carpe Retractum!”

Now, the exact value of this disaster was difficult to see. A thin, gold rope did exist for a moment, but so did a ball of purple flame. Whether it was the fire or the surprise that knocked Raja over was impossible to tell. He did, fortunately, stay in the green area, but there he was, laying flat on his back. He wheezed as the air rushed out of his lungs, but he could not stay down for long.

He bent at the hip, sitting upright quickly. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. Raja giggled happily as he stood up, brushing himself off. He looked at the obstacle for a moment before leaping in the air: “I did it!” he shouted. He spun around to face his partner. On his face was, between two brow bones, the sum total of perhaps half of an eyebrow. “Look, look!” he grinned, ushering her forward to see. It wasn’t great progress, but the obstacle was noticably closer, tugged back to them before the fireball had ruined the spell’s integrity. It was about three inches closer.

“I did it!” he cried again. He had moved the thing. Dramatic or not, that sounded like a success to him.

Of course Raja wanted to use “the rope one”. Rhiya had known he was going to say that as soon as he opened his mouth. For reasons she couldn't fathom, he seemed determined to blow his eyebrows off.... more

Rhiya stiffened at the unexpected hug from Raja then patted him on the back awkwardly. It was hard not to (unwillingly) kind of like the kid when he was this genuinely enthusiastic and excited. She... more

“Oh no, you fell?” Raja was far less concerned about the red-turned disc and more about the fact that she’d fallen over. “No worries about having to double back. You okay?” Rhiya didn’t seem hurt,... more

Rhiya waited semi-patiently as Raja pulled off a successful Wingardium Leviosa . “Nice job.” They only had to do this, what, another 30-40 times? She looked ahead eyebrows in dismay at how far they... more